Take the Journey

The good people of PEACE Iowa will hold an event that shouldn't be missed no matter what you think, believe, or know about the Israeli/Arab relations.

Susan Nathan to discuss "My Journey Across the Jewish-Arab Divide"
Followed by Q & A and an interfaith panel discussion
Sunday, October 5, 7:00 pm
Old Brick Auditorium - 26 E. Market St., Iowa City

Popular Israeli author, Susan Nathan, was born in England and as a child was deeply affected by visits to her father's native country of South Africa. Nathan moved to Israel as an adult following the Jewish Law of Return. Her book, The Other Side of Israel, has been hailed as a roadmap for crossing a divide created by prejudices and misunderstandings.

"My belief that being Jewish entails certain responsibilities arose from [my] childhood," she writes. "It is precisely because of my personal history that I find myself in conflict with my Jewish/Israeli identity and the politics of my country's government."

After Ms. Nathan speaks, members of an interfaith panel (Jewish, Muslim, Christian) will respond and join Ms. Nathan for a question and answer session.

Ms Nathan's lecture is sponsored by PEACE Iowa, Consultation of Religious Communities, and Soul Friends

Free will donations will be accepted at the door.

Here's an article that might be of interest.

Kettle, I Believe You Know Pot

From Yahoo

The United States dropped China from its list of the world's worst human rights violaters, but added Syria, Uzbekistan and Sudan to the category in an annual report released Tuesday.

The State Department's 2007 Human Rights Report said however that China, which has raised hopes internationally that it would improve human rights by hosting the 2008 Olympics, still had a poor human rights records overall.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the report was aimed at highlighting the struggle for human rights around the world.

"In the long run, we are confident that citizens who sacrifice for their dignity and their rights will prevail, just as the Havels and the Mandelas did before them," Rice told reporters.

Uh, does that apply to us too? See China's thoughts on the subject.

Which Side Are You On?

From Janelle Rettig who has done more than just about anybody to support human and equal rights in Johnson County:

Friends,

Yesterday (2/10/2008) the Des Moines Register did a major story, "Lawmakers take side on marriage". You might be surprised to know that Johnson County legislators didn't stand uniformly and proudly in support of marriage equality. Even some Iowa City Democrats chose to answer one question about the constitutional amendment and then failed to answer the question about marriage. I don't know what to make of that, but they should be asked. Some might be surprised to know that Senator Becky Schmitz and Representative Ro Foege believe marriage is only for straight citizens. I know I was saddened by this survey.

Overall our delegation needs a lot of help understanding how all citizens should be treated equal under the law. At the bottom you will find an email I sent Becky Schmitz and Ro Foege. I've spent some time working on both of those campaigns, but I guess I still don't rank as a full citizen.

Here were the questions the DMR asked and the Johnson County responses:

Do you believe marriage should be only between a man and a woman?

Yes:
Senator Becky Schmitz D
Senator James Hahn R
Representative Ro Foege D
Representative Sandy Greiner R (Sponsor of anti-marriage constitutional amendment)
Representative Jeff Kaufmann R (Sponsor of anti-marriage constitutional amendment)

NO:
Senator Joe Bolkcom D
Representative Mary Mascher D

Declined to say yes or no:
Senator Bob Dvorsky D
Representative Vicki Lensing D
Representative Dave Jacoby D

Would you vote yes or no on HJR 8 or SJR 2001, which would begin the process to amend the Iowa Constitution and define marriage as only between a man and a woman?

Yes:
Senator James Hahn R
Representative Sandy Greiner R (Sponsor of anti-marriage constitutional amendment)
Representative Jeff Kaufmann R (Sponsor of anti-marriage constitutional amendment)

NO:
Senator Joe Bolkcom D
Senator Becky Schmitz D
Senator Bob Dvorsky D
Representative Mary Mascher D
Representative Ro Foege D
Representative Vicki Lensing D
Representative Dave Jacoby D

Declined to say yes or no:
None

Here are the addresses of the Johnson County folks:
Becky.Schmitz
Vicki.Lensing
Joe.Bolkcom
Ro.Foege
Robert.Dvorsky
David.Jacoby
Mary.Mascher
James.Hahn
Sandra.Greiner
Jeff.Kaufmann

I still dream of a day when the people we elect to office actually lead. I wake up every day hoping for the day that I will actually be equal. Shame on me for investing my time, money, and efforts supporting candidates that believe I'm not fully equal to them.

Janelle's Letter:

I guess being good neighbors, good citizens, taxpayers isn't enough. We wake up very day fearful for our financial future because people like you don't believe we are worthy of marriage and the rights and responsibilities that entails. Imagine living in a world where after 19 years of a committed relationship, the government still considers us strangers. Imagine living in fear of a life threatening illness or even death and having your spouse denied access to your death bed or funeral. Imagine living in a world where you wake up and see in the front page of the newspaper that lawmakers are taking sides on whether you should be allowed to love and marry the person of your dreams. Imagine living in a world where our mere being makes us targets of hate, violence, and the wrath of politicians who consider us sinners and unworthy.

I would appreciate a response about why you think we are unworthy of marriage and being fully equal to you.

Coralville to Consider Human Rights Ordinance

City leaders here are considering adopting a human rights ordinance for Coralville that prohibits discrimination based on age, race, religion, sexual orientation and other personal reasons.“We probably waited a little longer than we should have but we're ready to move forward,'' Mayor Jim Fausett said at a recent council meeting.

Although cities with populations of fewer than 29,000 people are not required to form human rights commissions, growing cities like Coralville, whose estimated population is 18,000, are being encouraged to take early steps and adopt ordinances.

Cities like Decorah and Grinnell already have formed commissions, even though their populations are less than 29,000.

Ralph Rosenberg, executive director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, has urged the Coralville council to form a human rights commission because of the city's growth. “We want Iowa to be a welcoming state, and you can play a major role here,'' he said.

Fausett said the council is interested.

The Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965 was changed on July 1, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected personal matters when dealing with employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and education.

Johnson County adopted a human rights ordinance that took effect at the beginning of this year, banning discrimination based on age, color, race, national origin, creed, religion, disability, marital status, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

Jose Padilla: A Tortured Soul

From the Christian Science Monitor

Jose Padilla had no history of mental illness when President Bush ordered him detained in 2002 as a suspected Al Qaeda operative. But he does now.

The Muslim convert was subjected to prison conditions and interrogation techniques that took him past the breaking point, mental health experts say.

Two psychiatrists and a psychologist who conducted detailed personal examinations of Mr. Padilla on behalf of his defense lawyers say his extended detention and interrogation at the US Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., left him with severe mental disabilities. All three say he may never recover.

Padilla's psychological condition is important because his situation marks the first time an enemy combatant in the war on terror is in a position to present a verifiable claim of abuse at the hands of US interrogators. Padilla's mental health itself is a form of evidence, mental-health experts say, and it strongly suggests that – at least in Padilla's case – the government's harsh interrogation and confinement tactics went too far.

Padilla is currently on trial in Miami on terror conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say he was a willing Al Qaeda recruit who attended a training camp in Afghanistan. He denies the allegations. Closing arguments in the three-month trial are slated to begin Monday.

Beyond the outcome of his Miami trial, larger issues loom. Chief among them, legal scholars say, is whether Mr. Bush acted within his constitutional authority when he ordered Padilla, a United States citizen, held without charge as an enemy combatant at the brig for three years and seven months. More

Friday Quick Hits

Five U.S. soldiers were killed when a "very large" roadside bomb exploded near their combat patrol in southern Baghdad, a U.S. general said Friday.

A combination of small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades followed the blast Thursday, said Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., who described the attack as "showing a level of sophistication that we have not often seen so far" during the period of the so-called "surge" in U.S. forces.

Fil said four soldiers were killed initially. Seven others were wounded, he said, and one of those later died.


The New York Times has a new poll out. Here's a clue, it wouldn't be in this blog if it wasn't saying something I would not agree with.

What Women See in Hillary (or not)
from the Nation via Zogby

"I love [Hillary Clinton] so completely that, honestly, she would have to burn down the White House before I would say anything bad about her!" exclaimed Nora Ephron in a 1993 Newsday interview. Three years later, she told the Wellesley class of 1996, "Understand: Every attack on Hillary Clinton for not knowing her place is an attack on you." Come late 2006, however, Ephron was the one on the attack as one of the self-described "Hillary resisters" -- those who believe that "she will do anything to win, who believe she doesn't really take a position unless it's completely safe," as she wrote on her Huffington Post blog, "who believe she has taken the concept of triangulation and pushed it to a geometric level never achieved by anyone including her own husband, who can't stand her position on the war, who don't trust her as far as you can spit."

Hey Guantanamo Detainees, The Court's in Your Favor
The Supreme Court said today that it would review the rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees to challenge their confinements in federal court, reversing a decision in April not to take up that issue.

A Syria-ous Charge
President George W. Bush on Friday banned Syrian and Lebanese officials whom Washington accuses of undermining the Lebanese government from entering the United States, the White House said.

Free Air Better Than Fair Air?
The House voted Thursday to bar the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the broadcast “fairness doctrine” even though there are no legislative or regulatory proposals to bring back the rule. The bill which was adopted, 309-115, puts the House on record as favoring “freedom on the public airwaves.” This is great news for Rush, Sean, Ann, and less good news for equal press. With consolidation of the airwaves, this points to the need for community radio.

Veggie Booty Might Make You a Sicko
Food poisoning isn't progressive so be aware a recall is underway for snack food Veggie Booty which may have a type of salmonella in it.

Bush "Putin" on the Ritz in Kennebunkport This Weekend For Russian Leader
Caviar from the Caspian Sea will be flown in to the land of lobster as what might be the final meeting between Presidents Bush and Vladimir Putin gets underway in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Dems Challenge Invocation of Executive Privilege
In a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding, the heads of the Senate and House Judiciary committees demanded an explanation in 10 days of why the White House claimed executive privilege on subpoenaed documents and vowed to invoke "the full force of law."

Homeland's Chertoff: He Don't Like, He Don't Like, He Don't Like--Propane
A long way to go for a pun, but Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin saw problems with new propane regulations proposed by the Department of Homeland Security. The proposal would list propane as a chemical of interest when kept in quantities greater than 7,500 pounds, forcing a costly risk assessment.

Elizabeth Edwards Splits With Husband...On GM

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, kicked off San Francisco's annual gay pride parade Sunday by splitting with her husband over support for legalized gay marriage.

"I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me," Mrs. Edwards said at a news conference before the parade started. "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."

She made the remark almost offhandedly in answering a question from reporters after she delivered a standard campaign stump speech during a breakfast hosted by the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, an influential San Francisco political organization. California's presidential primary is Feb. 5, one of the earliest contests in the nation.

She conceded her support puts her at odds with her husband, a former senator from North Carolina who she said supports civil unions among gay couples --but not same-sex marriages.

"John has been pretty clear about it, that he is very conflicted," she said. "He has a deeply held belief against any form of discrimination, but that's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town."

Friday Quick Hits

Congressman Dave Loebsack has updated his website. It is much more useful and includes recent votes, help with constituent casework and other helpful features.







Come to the war protest today between 5:15 and 5:45 on the corner of Washington and Clinton Sts in Iowa City. One of these days we won't have to say "see you next week".

Saturday 6/16 is Iowa City Pride Festival in College Green Park and the Pride Picnic in Upper City Park. A parade, which I and other PFLAG members will be a part of, begins at 12 pm. It has been a really good year for GLBTQ rights in Iowa and elsewhere, so there is a lot to feel pride about. I'm sure you'll see politicians and wanna be ones (such as Mike Wright) there making speeches and hanging around. If you are around at 2:30 in Upper City Park, be sure to check out Katie Roche and the Awful Purdies.


And speaking of "awful purdies" (my apologies to Edwards supporter, Tom Carsner, but really can you blame me?) Saturday, Presidential Candidate John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth will be at the Johnson County Fairgrounds at 12:30 in building 5. Edwards does have support in the GLBTQ community.


Finally, next Wednesday (6/20) a meeting with Randi Aho from the Center for Victims of Torture will be held at the County Administration Building which is intended to get Iowa Citians engaged to help stop global torture. If you want to attend or help, contact Tom Slockett at 356-6004.

Camp Cropper: An American Tragedy

Google These words "Camp Cropper" and your stomach will turn. Read stories of this American-run prison (this is where Saddam Hussein was held and eventually executed) and you will wonder what kind of people we have there running them.

Check out these links:

Robert Fisk's A Torture Story to Shame Us All
Earlier Jail Seen as Incubator for Abuses in Iraq

The latest is this charming tale about the commanding officer.

Lt. Colonel William Steele, a former military police commander at the Camp Cropper prison where Saddam Hussein and other top detainees were held, is also accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a female interpreter, failing to obey orders and possessing pornographic videos.

At a hearing in Baghdad last month, witnesses testified that Steele approved buying Cuban cigars for Saddam, fraternized with a detainee's daughter, used his service pistol to intimidate tower guards, and improperly stored classified information.

The 51-year-old Army reservist from Prince George, Va., has been in custody since March.
The U.S. military said the charges were referred to a general court-martial on Sunday, and were served to Steele on Tuesday. The government must wait five days before arraigning him, it said.
The military had the option of recommending that no action be taken, that some or all of the charges be dismissed, or that a court-martial be held.

The alleged incidents took place from October 2005 to February 2007, starting when Steele was commander of the 451st Military Police Detachment at Camp Cropper prison and in his later post as a senior patrol officer at nearby Camp Victory with the 89th Military Police Brigade.

4th Suicide at Guantanamo

From the BBC

A Saudi Arabian prisoner has died in an apparent suicide at the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the US military has said.

A statement by the US Southern Command said the inmate was found unresponsive and not breathing by guards, and attempts to revive him failed.

Two Saudis and a Yemeni prisoner were found hanged in an apparent suicide at the camp in June last year.

There are about 380 prisoners at the camp, some held for five years.

'Appropriate care'

There were no details as to how the prisoner died. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has begun an inquiry into the incident.

The president of the US Center for Constitutional Rights, Michael Ratner, told the Associated Press news agency the death was likely an act of desperation.

"You have five-and-a-half years of desperation there with no legal way out," Mr Ratner said.

'Unfair' trials

The death came just days before two detainees - Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni, and Omar Khadr, a Canadian - were due to face trial before a US military tribunal on charges of war crimes.

On Wednesday, Mr Khadr fired his American lawyers, leaving him without representation for Monday's hearing.

Mr Khadr's former lawyer, Marine Lt Col Colby Vokey, said his former client was being held under a process that was "patently unfair".

"He doesn't trust American lawyers, and I don't particularly blame him," Lt Col Vokey said.

Mr Hamdan won a landmark case last year when the US Supreme Court ruled the military tribunal system illegal.

You have a right to an attorney--kind of

The Justice Department backed off a plan to limit prisoner visits with their attorneys to three visits. According to the AP, "Administration attorneys told a U.S. appeals court the Defense Department, which runs the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, determined the proposed three-visit limit is "no longer warranted," based on "a current evaluation of resources and needs."

There have been no restrictions on the number of visits by attorneys with their clients at Guantanamo but last month Justice Department lawyers proposed limiting attorneys with existing clients at Guantanamo to just three visits.

Justice Department lawyers said in a six-page court filing that the Defense Department still believes the other proposed restrictions are "warranted and appropriate."

One proposal would allow lawyer-client mail to be read by government officials who are not involved in the case.

Another proposed restriction would limit defense lawyers' access to classified information that was part of the tribunal record. They would get access only if the U.S. government determined they had a "need to know."

The appeals court is considering the procedures to govern the cases brought by the prisoners in light of an anti-terrorism law that President George W. Bush pushed through Congress last year.

That law took away the right of the prisoners to challenge their detention before U.S. district court judges in Washington, resulting in the dismissal of pending cases and a more limited review by the appeals court.